No 15
(Recognizing a
You’re on vacation far from home and you
want to find a good church. So you take
the local phonebook (like I have done) and see which church is best suitable
for you. If you find one that fits your
criteria, fine but if not, you’re only there for one time so make the best of
it. It is a totally different story when
you are looking for a church in your area that you wish to attend on a
permanent basis. How can you recognize a
good church? Before starting, let me say
that you will never find a perfect church but if you do, it will become
imperfect because your of your presence there (a
joke). A good church must have strong
beliefs and sound teaching in the following areas:
1)
Bibliology – The church must believe that the Bible is the
inspired Word of God and that it is infallible and without contradiction.
2)
Theology – The church must preach about who and how God is. It
must preach not only about His love, His mercy and His grace but also about His
holiness, His justice and His power.
3)
Christology – The church must believe in the humanity and the
deity of the person of Jesus Christ; it must also believe in the virgin birth.
4)
Soteriology – The church must have a correct understanding about
salvation in that it is by grace through faith in Christ alone. The
church must have strong emphasis on evangelism and missions.
5)
Pneumatology – the church must correctly view The Holy Spirit. In
some churches the main concern is the Holy Spirit and nothing else counts;
whereas in other churches, He is the “neglected one”. The role of the
Holy Spirit is vital to the health of the church. Indwelt believers will care
for one another and will exercise brotherly love to all.
6)
Ecclesiology – A good church must be correct in its understanding
of itself in that it will preach about the invisible church (Christ’s body and
spouse) and the local church (where we sit to hear the Word of God).
7)
Eschatology – Over the years, I have come to realize that not
everyone in the evangelical church agree on end times; this must never become
occasions for division and strife. The most monumental event in world history
was the birth of Jesus Christ at His first coming. The Second Coming of Christ will be an event
that will be welcomed by some and feared by others.
One last note on how to recognize a good
church is that it will not only preach about heaven but will also warn
unbelievers about the fires of hell.
Jesus was the one who spoke mostly about hell. “And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that
have no more that they can do. But I
will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath
power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him” (Luke 12 : 4, 5).